Corruption And Conflict Of Interest

Sen. Christopher Dodd, a top figure in Democrats' response to the housing crisis, defended through a spokesman two mortgages he reportedly received under a special Countrywide Financial Corp. program that awarded preferential interest rates to people referred to as "friends" of the company's chairman and chief executive, Angelo Mozilo.

"The Dodds received a competitive rate on their loans," said Bryan DeAngelis, Sen. Dodd's press secretary. "They did not seek or anticipate any special treatment, and they were not aware of any." He declined further comment.

The news could cause headaches for the Connecticut senator, who is trying to negotiate housing legislation designed to deal with the foreclosure crisis. The final bill could include expanding a government program to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced home loans.

Publicly, Mr. Dodd has been critical of some of the mortgages in which Countrywide specialized, such as loans known as "payment-option ARMs," adjustable-rate mortgages that give borrowers multiple payment options each month. In December 2007, he co-signed a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that called these mortgages at Countrywide "abusive" because "these loans were not made on the basis of a borrower's ability to pay."

The "Friends of Angelo" program was first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal on Saturday and focused on former Fannie Mae Chief Executive James Johnson. Mr. Johnson resigned from Sen. Barack Obama's vice-presidential-search task force because of loans he received from the mortgage lender under the little-known program.

Condé Nast Portfolio magazine reported Sen. Dodd's participation in the program, among a handful of other Washington luminaries, on its Web site late Thursday. A spokesman for Countrywide, of Calabasas, Calif., didn't return a message seeking comment.

Portfolio said Countrywide made two loans in 2003 at special rates to Sen. Dodd: a $503,000 loan to refinance a Washington townhouse and a $275,042 loan to refinance a loan on a home in East Haddam, Conn. The article said Countrywide waived fractions of points on the loans, a move that likely saved Sen. Dodd money. Portfolio said the lower interest rates could have saved Sen. Dodd a combined $75,000 during the life of the 30-year loans, though this could be difficult to measure because the mortgages were reportedly adjustable-rate loans.

Oh sure, he got his points knocked off simply because he's a good guy.  I'm QUITE sure that it isn't because he's a SENATOR.  Sure, Countrywide has been known to knock off points for everyone right?  That's why they're doing so crappy right now, because they were just GIVING the loans away!  It's crazy time at Countrywide and all loans must GO!

Come on, does ANYONE besides a few retarded people believe this crap?  And a member of Obama's VP search team ALSO has this type of benefit?  Anyone else smelling corruption here?

It's the same thing with earmarks.

More than a year after Congress pledged to curb pork barrel funding known as earmarks, lawmakers are gearing up for another spending binge, directing billions toward organizations and companies in their home districts.

Earmark spending in the House's defense authorization bill alone soared 29 percent last month, from $7.7 billion last year to $9.9 billion now, according to data compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group in the District. The Senate bill has not been approved, but the proposal includes an increased number of earmarks, although for a slightly lesser total cost.

29% increase in earmarks.  Did the IRS collect 29% more revenue?  Of course not.

"It's corrupting. It's a much bigger problem than the sum of its parts. It's much more than just waste," said Flake, who has criticized both Republican and Democratic colleagues for questionable earmarked projects. "One good defense earmark can yield tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions."

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), for instance, requested a $4 million earmark for Digital Fusion, a company whose executives have recently donated $18,000 to the lawmaker. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) also inserted a $5.4 million earmark for Clean Earth Technologies, whose executives have donated $14,000 to him.

Vincent Perez, a spokesman for Reyes, said, "The congressman's appropriations projects are carefully vetted to ensure they are consistent with the needs and interests of his constituency, and there is no connection between his fundraising efforts and his work in Congress." Akin's office said his earmark was for developing imaging technology that "would be a huge step forward in force protection."

The Senate also relies on earmarks, though not quite so heavily. The number of earmarks in the Senate defense authorization bill rose sharply from 309 to 435, although the overall spending declined slightly this year, to $5.4 billion.

The requests by Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, included earmarks to General Motors, whose executives have recently donated $29,000 to the senator, according to the watchdog group. Levin's office did not respond to a request for comment.

The issue of earmarks is not going to go away anytime soon. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill), the presumptive Democratic nominee for the White House, disclosed in March that he had sought $740 million in earmarks over the past three years, about a third of which received funding. He has also proposed legislation requiring better disclosure of earmarks before they are approved. GOP rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the sharpest earmark critics in Congress, has made it a point to buck the trend and avoid asking for earmarks.

Obama ASKED for $740 MILLION dollars over 3 years.  John McCain has asked for ZERO.  Now, who do you think is better for the economy?  Someone who talks about universal health care and taking oil companies profits?  Or someone who talks about spending cuts?

It's a system that's easily ripe for corruption and conflicts of interest.  When John McCain talks about "tax and spend" Democrats, there's your evidence.

But people are stupid and they'll believe the hype.

Barack Obama has a slight edge over presidential rival John McCain on the economy, according to a poll of registered voters released Thursday.

The CNN/Opinion Research Poll shows that 50% of voters polled believe Obama will better handle the economy, while 44% favor McCain's economic policies.

The poll reflects telephone interviews with 921 registered voters June 4-5. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Obama's slight lead in the poll reflect his edge in general polls, as well as his perceived strength on domestic issues versus McCain's perceived strength in foreign policy, said Andrew Taylor, chairman of the political science department at North Carolina State University.

"We have a Republican administration, and there are people who blame the administration for the current economic situation," Taylor said. "They think the Democrats would be better for the economy right now."

Obama is successfully tying McCain to a "Bush third term".  John McCain needs to differentiate himself from Bush's policies, or he's in real trouble.  McCain would be wise to raise the earmarks issue and use that to point towards how he's better at the economy.  Failure to do so means more points towards Obama.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com